


Of Death and Time

by Ownlildreamworld (morg)



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Master of Death, Not Epilogue Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morg/pseuds/Ownlildreamworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry, Master of Death, has outlived all his friends and family and decides he is ready to embark on his own next great adventure. After years of study he's determined that the veil is a rift between dimensions. It's time to find out what became of Sirius. He never planned on running into a certain time Lord along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This has been bouncing around my head for months and I finally just had to put it to writing. I do have future plans for this story already outlined, but updates will likely be a bit slow as MoS remains my current priority. However, if you have any favorite episodes, alien races or settings that you would like to see our friends visit feel free to shoot me a message and I'll see what I can do.

He was running. He had run from quite a lot of things in his long life. This time he was running from an angry mob. An actual pitchfork waving, torch bearing, angry mob. He was kind of giddy at the thought of finally being chased out of town by an authentic village mob.

The Doctor started up a hill and he knew that just on the other side would be his lovely TARDIS. Reliable old girl that she was. He crested the hill and saw his TARDIS sitting just beyond, but his attention was caught by the figure standing between them, with his back to the Doctor, staring up at the blue police box. The Doctor slowed as he approached and the man turned at the sound of his footsteps.

Green and Yellow. That was the Doctor's first thought once the man faced him fully. He found himself confronted with two pairs of vivid eyes. The man bore impossibly green eyes. No human should have eyes that color, but this man did. Perhaps he only appeared human. That would certainly explain why he looked so out of place in 1842 England.

The other set of eyes belonged to the no less striking snake draped around the young man's shoulders. If the Doctor had not been sure the other was an alien before, he was now. That snake was unlike any species he knew of that had ever existed on Earth. The confusing part was that the snake was unlike any species he knew of that existed anywhere or anywhen.

The Doctor started quickly turning over thought after thought trying to place the odd duo. The man just looked at him unperturbed the whole while. The other eventually leaned slightly to the side and looked past the Doctor.

"Excuse me," and that was definitely a genuine British accent, "but are those people quickly heading this way friends of yours? They look somewhat put out."

The Doctor blinked. Oh right the mob. A quick glance behind him confirmed that they were in fact still chasing him and still angry too. Also very close.

"Ooooh them. Nah. I might have, just for a bit, borrowed one of their pigs. I was going to return him, but the pig decided he'd rather not become bacon and sort of ran off. Brighter pastures and all that. They seem to have taken some offense to that." He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, "A bit of an overreaction if you ask me."

A small snort escaped the other, "I'm sure. Well if you'll excuse me I'd rather not get skewered today. So I'll just be off then. Nice to meet you."

The Doctor wasn't about to let this mystery just walk away. "There's no time for that! They've already seen us together." He grabbed the other's wrist, unceremoniously dragged him into the TARDIS and slammed the door closed. A moment later the sound of a pitchfork or two was heard bouncing off the exterior.

The Doctor released the man's wrist and whirled around expectantly. He always loved people's first reactions to his old girl after all.

The man and snake looked around, but rather than surprise, the young man looked intrigued. The snake flicked it's tongue out a few times and made some hissing sounds. The man briefly glanced towards the snake and then walked to the central console. He lightly touched the console, "Is this some sort of space ship?"

A bit disappointing, but that was extra confirmation that the man wasn't from 1842 Earth. Though he already knew that. Perhaps he'd see just how much the other actually knew then.

Grandly sweeping his arms to either side, "It's a TARDIS!"

Two sets of eyes stared back at him blankly. "You know, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space."

The young man blinked and seemed to be processing the words. He responded slowly, "So it's a time and space ship then?"

"No! Well yes. Yes, I suppose that would be correct. It's not just any time and space ship though. It's a TARDIS!" The doctor shoved his hands back in his pockets, "I'm The Doctor by the way."

"Harry." The man, Harry, gestured towards the snake, "This is Morena, although I usually call her Mora." The snake gave a short hiss and continued to stare at him. That must be an exceptionally intelligent snake. The Doctor was fairly certain that she was following the conversation.

The doctor started sweeping around the console. Flicking levers and switches, he asked, "So Harry, what brings you to good old 1842 England?"

Harry looked slightly startled at this. "Is that where I was? Well I can't say I was expecting to go back in time, but that does explain a few things. I wasn't there long enough to find much out. Although I did think it was odd to see a blue police box just sitting around a hillside."

That certainly caught his attention. "You time traveled? How did you do it?" His TARDIS scanners weren't picking up anything that could be time travel technology. He brandished his sonic screwdriver and started energetically scanning the pair. He flipped the screwdriver up and read the readings. 20th century human, male, 24, currently healthy, signs of long term malnourishment from his childhood until he was about 17. The snake came back as an unknown species, but was very much actually a snake.

He looked back at Harry. He did look human. Mostly. He also sounded and acted British, but there was just something off. Those too green eyes, the gravity defying hair and something in the way the he held himself spoke of something different. He didn't react like your normal 20th century human and wasn't even remotely surprised that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside. Still, he obviously wasn't familiar with Time Lord technology. Add that he was carrying around a unique species of snake and he had himself quite the mystery.

Harry watched carefully as the Doctor waved some kind of metal wand thing all around him. He was fairly certain that this world did not have magic like his, but there was a type of energy radiating from the ship. Especially coming from the pillar thing in the middle. He wasn't surprised that the veil had thrown him into another world. He had largely been expecting that. He had never considered that he would end up somewhere else in time though. It was times like these that he missed Hermione the most. She would never have overlooked something so obvious.

He didn't want to give too much away to this eccentric stranger quite yet, "I'm not sure. A number of years ago my godfather was in an accident that caused him to disappear. I tried to recreate the accident in an effort to find out what happened to him. I ended up not too far from where you found me. I basically spent a couple of days wandering around the empty countryside until I saw the, very hard to miss, blue police box. You showed up running shortly after and here we are."

The Doctor visibly deflated a bit at that. "Oh. Well since you didn't find him, I suppose you'll be wanting to go back home then? I can drop you off if that's what you like."

This brought Harry up short. What did he do now? He wasn't sure where to begin looking for Sirius. If the veil dumped him at some random time then Sirius could be anywhere in the timeline. Going to his own time seemed equally pointless since in his days wandering he had not managed to find any signs of a magical community. He hadn't been walking through the country so much as trying to apperate to familiar locations. Hogwarts and Diagon Alley either weren't in the same place or just didn't exist. He personally suspected the latter.

The Doctor seemed to pick up on his hesitation. He perked up slightly, "Or if you want, you could come with me. Travel the universe. See the stars." He trailed off expectantly.

Harry eyed the other man a moment. Disheveled brown hair and a long brown jacket that only seemed to accent how tall and skinny the man was. He looked young, but the feeling the man gave off suggested otherwise. Besides he was well accustomed to just how misleading appearances could be.

Harry had the sinking suspicion he was about to land himself into another one of his Potter-luck created messes. However, if this ship really could time travel, then maybe he would be able to find Sirius if he looked long enough. He shared a look with Mora and received a slight nod from his familiar. With a small self-deprecating sigh he agreed, "Sure. Let's see the stars."

The Doctor clapped his hands together once and sprang into motion. Did the man ever stay still? "Excellent! We just have to make one stop first to pick up a friend who's visiting her mother then we'll be off!"

Harry watched bemused as the Doctor pulled a large lever with a cry of "Allonsy!" The pillar started to move and a sort of grinding noise began as he felt the ship lurch. Just like that he was off on a new adventure.


	2. Introductions

§You have taken us to a very strange world Master. Is traveling through time always this uncomfortable?§

Harry felt Mora tighten her grip around his shoulders as she spoke. He threw a glance to the eccentric man who had sort of kidnapped them in a whirlwind of constant motion and quick talking. For the moment, the Doctor appeared busy pulling levers and pressing buttons and didn't seem to be paying the pair much attention.

Looking back at his familiar and long time companion, §From my experience it has always been more disorienting than anything else. Time wasn't exactly my field of study though and I don't recall anyone ever trying to time traveling while also physically moving. It's actually kind of a fascinating idea.§

He zoned out, pondering over the implications that moving in space and moving against the flow of time could not only be done simultaneously, but might actually have an effect on each other. Or he pondered until Mora saw fit to whack him on the head with her tail.

She huffed, §You did not used to fade out in thought so often. You are developing bad habits again Master.§

Harry gave a sort of self-deprecating chuckle, §I'm afraid that age has the tendency to make academics out of even the most dense of pupils. Personally though I blame a lifetime spent around Hermione. Her enthusiasm was bound to wear off on us eventually. I'll grant that Ron was especially resilient, but even he would read a book from time to time just for enjoyment in his later years.§

Anything she might have said in response was cut short when the world around them went still. It seemed they had arrived. Harry's attention was drawn by the Doctor as the other man practically bounced over to the doors and threw them open.

The Doctor looked over at him, "Come on now. We need to go get Rose." Then without further explanation stepped out.

Harry followed after, walking briskly to catch up, he faltered when he realized just where and when they were. "We're in London." He looked at some of the car models parked along the street, "In the late 90's?"

"2006 actually," was the distracted reply. They were standing outside the TARDIS seemingly waiting. It didn't take long before a blonde girl of about average height came running out of a nearby apartment. She barreled into the Doctor, wrapping him in a tight hug.

She pulled back, "Hey you! You're only a week late this time. You might be improving Doctor."

The Doctor grinned wildly before seeming to remember Harry's presence, "Oh! Introductions! Rose Tyler meet Harry and the lovely Morena. Harry this is Rose."

Rose stuck her hand out to him, "Lovely to meet you. I hope this great big lout hasn't been giving you any trouble."

Harry returned the gesture, "Not too much. I just happened to be standing in the way of his escape route when he was fleeing a group of angry villagers. I suppose we got swept along in all the excitement."

Rose's eyes narrowed and she turned her glare back on the other man, "Doctor, what did you do this time?"

The Doctor started, non too subtlety, to inch behind Harry as if to shield himself from the blonde's wrath, "Oh you know me always getting into one thing or another. Besides, Harry said he wanted to come!"

Harry was too amused to not stir the pot a bit, "I did." He paused, "Of course, it was after you had already abducted us."

Rose's glare intensified and the Doctor shot him a betrayed look. Harry offered him no sympathy and merely watched the spectacle as the two started to bicker. He decided he liked this girl. She could obviously handle herself and he was beginning to suspect that being around this Doctor character was not a simple task.

The stalemate was interrupted by Mora's hissy laugh. The Doctor and Rose both stopped what they were doing to stare at her seemingly odd behavior. She raised her head and flicked her tongue out in Rose's direction. §This one might share a name with the flower child, but she reminds me more of your wolf cub Master.§

Harry tilted his head a bit and considered Rose again. He could see why Mora might compare the girl and Teddy. They both seemed to have a sort of excited confidence around them. It was too soon to know for sure though. Curious of their reactions, he said aloud, "You might be right Mora. She does remind me a bit of Teddy."

Rose's curious, "Who's Teddy?" overlapped with the Doctor's excited proclamation of "You can understand her!" Choosing to ignore that the Doctor was once again waving that blinking metal wand all around him, he turned to Rose, "Teddy was the oldest of my godchildren. He was the son of one of my dad's best friends and another good friend of mine." He gave her a knowing look, "He also had a knack for coaxing even the most stubborn of people into doing his bidding."

Rose smiled unabashedly at that. They both looked over at the Doctor who was looking between the metal wand and the TARDIS and mumbling to himself. Rose gained a look of fond exasperation, "He might be at it for awhile. How about we go to my apartment for a cup of tea. I can introduce you to my mum."

Harry agreed amiably and followed her up to the nearby buildings. He could really do with a hot cup of tea.

* * *

It had been less than an hour and Harry was proving to be a greater enigma by the second. Nothing fit together with him. He obviously recognized London and the general time period, but he looked at it as if removed from the setting. When a person finds themselves home it is apparent. The sense of belonging, of comfortable familiarity is reflected, in their mannerisms, in their eyes. Harry possessed none of this. Just a curious nostalgia, like he was looking at something that was at once well known and fondly remembered, but altogether missing some key element that would make it truly his.

He carried with him a unique snake that spoke in a language Harry understood. All the languages in the universe and this boy and snake knew one that the TARDIS couldn't translate. For all that his scanners repeatedly told him the boy was human, the Doctor had never come across one that felt so utterly foreign. Even when they would finally travel out to the stars, spreading out across the vastness of space, leaving the Earth behind for good, humans wouldn't have eyes that green.

He snapped himself out of his musings and found himself standing alone by his TARDIS (and wasn't that what it always came down to). The shifting of the universe informed him that less than an hour had passed. The shadows had stretched only slightly and the day had waned just a little, but the stillness and the silence that always lurked along the edges of things already threatened to encroach. So once again he ran. Rushing off towards the bustling and the noise of humanity that he always marveled in.

He barged into Rose's apartment with all his usual grace to be greeted by the sight of mother, daughter, boy and snake all sitting around the kitchen table with tea and biscuits. Harry appeared to be regaling the small family with some tale that revolved around four pranksters with rather curious names. Without pausing in his story, Harry briefly caught his eyes and the Doctor watched as the other pointedly nudged a fourth cup of tea his way. Just like that the silence retreated back to the edges of perception and the Doctor felt himself grin as he threw himself into the vacant seat.

* * *

"What kind of name is Wormtail? Really, all the names you humans come up with. Wormtail." he rolled the name around his mouth and couldn't help scrunch up his nose at it. There was nothing pleasant about that name. "Who would want a tail of worms anyway?"

Harry looked distinctly amused by the Doctor's reaction, "It was a nickname actually, but you'd be surprised at just how fitting it turned out to be. Sometimes I think he was more a rat masquerading as a man than a man who resembled a rat." He grimaced a bit, "He was a very unpleasant person who would do almost anything to save his own skin."

While the Doctor was quickly going through possible rodent like aliens that could look human, Jackie chimed in, "If he was such an unpleasant person then why where they friends?"

Something profoundly sad flickered across Harry's face for just a moment. Jackie and Rose didn't seem to catch it, but the Doctor did. "Because at the time he was just a schoolboy. A bit cowardly and very insecure, but ultimately just a kid with no real understanding of the world. It would be his choices not too many years later that would lead him to become the pathetic man he grew up to be. Unfortunately those choices would have rather far reaching consequences. It's very easy to forget that most people aren't born monsters even if they eventually become one."

Harry seemed to sink into himself a bit, lost in thought. Then Morena whacked him on the head with her tail and he came back to himself. "That's enough being morose though. Doctor, by your comment I take it your not human?"

The Doctor blinked at the sudden shift in conversation. Harry didn't seem remotely skeptical at the suggestion that he wasn't human. He puffed himself up, "Nope. Not human me. I'm a Time Lord from Gallifrey."

Harry just looked a bit confused. Rose pitched in, "He's an alien. Gallifrey is his home world."

At that Harry did show some surprise. Interesting. He must have suspected the Doctor wasn't human, but he still thought he would be native to Earth. What other species could he know that lived on Earth, but still looked human?

His thoughts were interrupted by a short hiss from Morena. He watched as Harry took hold of her and set her down on the table between them. She was a very dark gray with blue/black markings running down her spine and eyes as yellow as Harry's were green. She moved closer to him and raised herself up so her head was level with his. The Doctor felt himself go cross-eyed as she flicked her tongue against his nose.

She started hissing and how strange it was to not know what she was saying. Is this how humans always feel when they go to another country? Why do they even bother having so many languages if they can't understand most of them? Sometimes they truly were a ridiculous species.

Harry was giving him a sort of speculative look when she finished talking. Jackie was staring at the snake with some apprehension. Luckily Rose, brilliant Rose, picked up the line of questioning.

"What did she say?"

Harry let out a soft hum before he slowly responded, "She said the Time Healer tastes of age and loss. He tastes of foreign winds and sunlight." Then he ruined the effect, "She also says you shouldn't leave your eyes like that or they will stick."

Rose started laughing at the last part, but the Doctor was still having a stare down with the perceptive reptile. Rose kept up her line of questioning, "She can really taste all that? Why does she call him a Time Healer?"

Harry was still looking speculatively at the Doctor as he replied, "Snake's tongues are very perceptive. Sort of like a Dogs nose with smells. Mora is a bit special even in that regard though. She can pick up on where a person has been recently, but also especially prominent emotions." He turned to Rose, "She calls him Time Healer because the word Doctor doesn't have a direct translation into her language. Most names are like that actually. She can't make human sounds so she tends to end up calling people by some kind of characteristic they remind her of."

"Feel free to talk to her when I'm not around. She understands multiple languages including English and is very good at expressing herself non-verbally. She's smarter than most humans I've met." Mora abruptly broke the staring contest with him to turn and glare at Harry. She practically spat something out at him causing the man to look mildly annoyed.

"Just because you can beat me at chess does not mean you are smarter than all humans. I'm terrible at chess and you know it. Ron beat you at chess plenty of times." Another flurry of hisses and the two were suddenly locked in a staring contest of their own. Each stubbornly refusing to back down.

The Doctor grabbed another biscuit without looking away from the duo. He was very interested in the result of this showdown. Perhaps he could get a rematch with Morena after it was over. Jackie picked up the conversation, "Harry dear, where are you from? Do you live in London? Are you from this time?"

Harry didn't look away, but answered all the same, "I grew up in Surrey, but I went to a boarding school in Scotland when I was eleven. From there I lived and worked in London for a time before eventually moving out to the country. I've traveled a lot both for work and otherwise, but my main office was always in London. As for this time...I suppose this could be considered my time. I was born in 1980 so I'd be 26 in 2006."

The Doctor noted how the boy didn't claim to actually be 26. His screwdriver showed him as the physical age of 24. Also, he had yet to speak of anyone, but Morena in the present tense. Considering his reckless pursuit of his estranged godfather, it was very possible that Harry didn't really have anyone else left he felt close to. The Doctor understood that feeling all too well.

Jackie continued, "What was it you did for work?"

Still without breaking eye contact or blinking, "Well for the first few years after I was finished with school I worked as something similar to the police. I've never been terribly good with authority figures though, so I only ended up staying there as long as I absolutely had to. After that I took a break for awhile before I finally moved into research."

"What did you researched?"

As though through unspoken agreement both snake and boy looked away at once. Those two pairs of too vibrant eyes stared out across the table at the three of them.

"Well among a variety of other things, I spent a lot of time studying a gateway that was said to lead to the realm of Death itself."

For a heartbeat there was absolute silence at the table. Then the Doctor exploded in a flurry of questions, "What does the gateway look like? Does it glow? Maybe a bluish green or a purplish orange or a lavender? Where did the gateway come from? Does it hum?"

Harry stared slightly bemused at the man during his tirade, but the last question caught his attention, "It doesn't hum, it whispers."

He decided he might as well go for full dramatic effect, "It's an ancient, stone archway that sits in the middle of a circular room deep underground. There is a single, thin veil that drapes down and flutters in a non existent breeze and some people hear voices calling out in whispers when they get too close."

"Many think the voices are those of the dead trying to lure the living to them. Anything that passes through the arch does not come out on the other side, so it was believed to be a passageway to death. I heard it used to be a method of execution for convicted criminals, but the practice was stopped well before I was born so I don't really know the details."

Harry could practically see the gears rapidly turning in the Doctor's head, "That's how you ended up in 1842."

Harry smiled, "Yes, I jumped through chasing my mutt of a godfather and wound up not far from where you found me. So unless the realm of death looks like the English countryside of 1842, then I think people were a touch wrong about where the archway leads."

Rose gained a vaguely horrified look, "You just jumped into an archway that people thought would kill you? Why would you do that?"

Harry could think of a couple of reasons, but left that thought unspoken. Instead he replied, "Well I did say that I had studied the archway. I was almost positive that it didn't actually lead to Death and fairly certain that it also did in fact lead somewhere at all. By the time I jumped through I was mostly confident I'd survive the trip. Though it really never occurred to me I'd end up in a different time. That was a careless oversight on my part to be honest."

Harry saw something spark in the Doctor's eyes and he had to wonder if the man had pieced together that Harry hadn't exactly expected the archway to merely plop him somewhere else in his own world, but in another world altogether. After all, if that hadn't been the case then Sirius would have been able to find his own way back and they would have discovered what the veil did long ago.

Of course that brought up the question of when Sirius actually arrived in this world. Was it truly random or was there some kind of pattern? It was a bit difficult to judge considering he only had the trip he and Mora took as reference. Leave it to Sirius to make things overly complicated.

Rose looked thoughtful, "So your godfather also worked there then? When did he go through the gateway?"

Harry paused for a moment. He tried to picture Sirius working in a place like the Department of Mysteries. He paled at just the idea of the shear havoc the man would create in a place filled with volatile magics. The ministry would probably have been wiped off the map in a week.

Still caught up in his mild horror, he somewhat weakly responded, "No, Sirius working in a place where experiments and research were being done would be," he trailed off not being able to come up with a sufficient word to describe the chaos, "bad. Very very bad."

Forcibly pushing the image out of his mind he thought back to one of the nights that still haunted him. Even after all these years, he had never been able to completely let it go. Researching the veil might not have been the main reason he eventually joined the Unspeakables, but it certainly contributed to his choice.

He rubbed at the bridge of his nose where glasses once sat. It was a habit he had never truly broken even though he had long since had his eyes corrected. Finally he spoke, "When I was fifteen there was a terrorist of sorts. He had been trying to forcibly take over a small community that I was a part of for a number of years already and would continue to try for a couple more after. However, it was the year that I was fifteen that he successfully led me into a trap. Myself and five of my friends were lured out of school to the very department that I would later go to work. Sirius was part of a small group of people who were actively trying to stop the terrorist and they showed up to rescue us. A lot of fighting happened, but at some point we ended up in the Death Chamber, named after the archway that was set there. Belletrix, Sirius' mad cousin, ended up knocking him through the veil and that was the last time I saw him."

He had been so very young back then and so desperate. Most of the time he could forget his age. He knew he didn't act like the twenty four years he had been when he had inadvertently reunited with the hallows, but he could usually pass as just overly mature. However, anytime he thought back on that war with Tom, when they had all been so terribly young, he felt all his years settle on him like a heavy winter cloak.

For the most part he had moved on. Hermione had practically ground it into him that he was not to lose himself in grief after they passed. She was also the one that gave him Mora and dredged up an old ritual the could, among other things, tie a familiar to a wizard's life force. It was illegal of course, most rituals had been at the time, but that didn't stop them. She probably understood more than anyone what would happen to him if he was forced to go through eternity alone. For the most part he had moved on, but there were still moments. Moments where the past weighed heavily on his mind.

It had been over four centuries and some images from that time when they were all children had never completely left him. Sirius falling through the veil, Snape's dying eyes, Voldemort's terrible high-pitched laughter, relaxing in the common room with Ron and Hermione, Luna with a dazed expression and her wand behind her ear, Dumbledore's office, Malfoy's sneer, they all haunted his dreams and nightmares still. He supposed finding Sirius was a way to put at least one of his demons to rest.

Jackie poured him some more tea, "I've never heard a name like Bellatrix before. Bit unusual if you ask me."

It was the Doctor that latched onto the train of thought, "It's a star, Bellatrix. A big star. Over six times larger than your sun. Part of the Orion constellation. Sirius though, Sirius is currently the brightest star you lot can see from Earth and it will remain that way for the next 210,000 years. The Dog Star as you humans call it."

Harry nodded at these facts, inwardly relieved that the stars seemed consistent with his world, "The Blacks were an old family with a tradition of naming their children after stars and constellations." He nodded towards Rose, "My godson I mentioned earlier, Teddy, his grandmother was Bellatrix's sister and Sirius' cousin. Her name was Andromeda and she named her daughter Nymphadora. Try calling her Nymphadora though and she'd have your head for it. She went by her last name Tonks. Even after she married she still went by Tonks."

It was then that Jackie got that wicked grin that all mothers seemed to master. Harry mentally cringed when he saw it and sure enough one of the most dreaded questions of all men everywhere came tumbling out of her mouth, "So Harry, are you seeing anyone? A nice young man like you probably has all the girls flocking to him."

And there it was. Matters weren't helped by the quiet laughter he could hear coming from Mora. She knew how uncomfortable situations like this were for him and it never ceased to amuse her. He gave Jackie his best sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck, "Err no I'm not seeing anyone. I was a bit too involved with work to really have time for any kind of serious relationship." That and the whole not aging thing, but as nice as these people were, they had only just met. He had joined the Unspeakables not in small part to hide his true age, so the idea of being candid about the whole thing now did not sit well with him. Even if Mora had practically confirmed his suspicions about the Doctor not being as young as he appeared.

Mora was still laughing at him as he continued to fend off Jackie's relationship questions. There was to be no help from her. So he turned to the only other male in the room imploringly. He was greeted with humor filled brown eyes and Harry suspected this might be subtle payback for abandoning the man to Rose's ire earlier that evening. Harry narrowed his eyes and inwardly vowed his revenge.

The Doctor saw the look he was receiving from the younger man and the pain it promised. He decided it might be time to move things along. Definitely nothing to do with that hypothetical frisson of fear that just raced up his spine. Nope. Pure coincidence really.

He put his empty cup down and stood from his chair, "Well you lot, if we don't head out soon who knows what trouble the universe will get up to. You about ready Rose?"

Rose gave him an excited smile and nodded, "Of course. I leave you alone for one minute and look what happens. You run off, cause riots and abduct poor strangers. Your like a child sometimes. Always getting yourself into some kind of trouble."

He led the others back outside to his lovely TARDIS and waited to the side while Rose and Jackie said their goodbyes.

Jackie turned to Harry, "Now you keep an eye on these two for me. Make sure that Doctor over there doesn't get you into too much trouble and look after my Rose."

"Why does he get to be the responsible one? I can be plenty responsible." The Doctor leaned casually back against the TARDIS, "That's what they call me. Mr. Responsible." He suddenly found himself faced with four disbelieving stares. How does a snake even do a disbelieving stare anyway? That seems hardly fair. She doesn't have the facial muscles to do facial expressions.

Rose hugged Jackie, "Don't worry mum, when he gets into another mess we'll be there to bail him back out."

Jackie just looked resigned, "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Oi! You make it sound like it's always my fault. Trouble finds me, I don't have to go around making more."

Rose walked up and linked arms with him, "That doesn't seem to stop you from making more anyway. So where are we going this time?"

"Oh I don't know. We could go to Anura, home to an amphibian race, or Reblais Beta, it's said they have the best food this side of sector 3Y. Or we could even go to Siralos, one of the 700 wonders of the universe and made up of pure psychic energy."

Rose just laughed and Harry said a polite farewell to Jackie. Then they stepped into the TARDIS and the Doctor walked over to the console to start plotting a course for the universe.


	3. Atria

"So what's different about Time Lords? You look basically humanish."

Rose responded smartly, "Apparently we just look Gallifreyan. Also he has two hearts, a non-linear perception of time and can regenerate."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "You can regenerate? Like a starfish?"

He had to admit the rather affronted look the Doctor gave him at that was pretty amusing.

"We don't regenerate like a starfish! When we die we regenerate into a new form."

Rose chimed in again, "Yeah, his last regeneration had big ears, way less hair and kept referring to all humans as apes. He also wore a leather jacket." She turned to the Doctor, "You know I kind of miss that leather jacket."

The Doctor leaned against the console and grinned, "It was pretty good wasn't it." His grin quickly turned to a frown, "My ears weren't that big."

Rose just gave him a pointed look that spoke volumes of her opinion on the ears.

Harry's lips twitched at their antics, "So I get the fancy starfish and his blue box. How did you get caught up in all this Rose?"

Both of them ignored the Doctor's indignant cry as Rose responded, "Oh all the plastic mannequins in the shop I worked in came to life and started killing people. Then the Doctor came rushing past, told me to run and blew up the shop. Later we found out all the plastic was being controlled by an alien race using the London Eye as a big transmitter." She gave a sort of half shrug, "They tried to kill us, we stopped them and then I joined the Doctor to travel the universe."

Harry stared. Well that was certainly different. He had no recollection of aliens invading London at any point in time and considering how long he had worked for the DoM he would probably know if it had happened.

"Is this a normal occurrence? The whole aliens on Earth thing." Maybe instead of magic this dimension had more aliens.

The Doctor replied from where he was fiddling with the central panel thing, "Oh yes. They show up all over the place. All throughout your history. As far back as you can go. Humans usually just dismiss it though. Convince themselves they never saw anything. You lot are pretty good at pretending nothing is unusual you know."

Harry huffed in amusement, "Now that I have no trouble believing. Somebody could come face to face with an actual dragon and convince themselves it never happened. Or it was some kind of movie prop or something equally absurd."

"Well there aren't dragons where we are going, but it's something just as spectacular." The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS once again lurched into motion. Once the sound and movement died down, the Doctor strode up to the doors, "The city Atria on the planet Ivaldi. Atria is a hot spot of tourist resorts, well known for their cliff side beaches and," he pushed open the doors and stepped out, "dragons? Those look like dragons. Why are there dragons? They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't exist at all!"

While the Doctor started frantically waving around that metal wand, Harry should really ask what that was sometime, Harry and Rose stepped outside. He blinked. Well those did look a lot like dragons. There were six of them and they were flying around. Not a species he had ever seen before, but they did share certain similarities he supposed. He watched one spit out fire. Okay more than a few similarities then. He really should have known better than to mention dragons earlier. He had basically been asking for something like this to come up. Potter luck strikes again.

Rose had apparently gotten over her initial shock, "Doctor... What are those? They aren't actually dragons are they? Are we even in the right place?"

The Doctor flicked up the metal wand thing and seemed to be studying it, "Yes, this is definitely Atria, but the giant flying lizard things are not supposed to be here."

Rose rolled her eyes at the flummoxed man, "Well let's go ask some people then. I doubt that they would somehow not noticed the dragon things flying around their home after all."

The man grinned, "I always wanted to see a real dragon. Maybe we'll get to ride one! Come on Rose, why are you just standing around gawking?" He grabbed the girls hand and started pulling her away. Harry grinned at the duo and followed after them.

They turned out of the alleyway they had arrived in and Harry looked on in awe at their surroundings. He hadn't realized it until now, but the city they were in was surrounded on three sides by towering mountain peaks. Specifically the peaks. Somehow, and he couldn't fathom how it was done without magic, the entire city was suspended in the air between the mountains connected by what looked like massive bridges to each peak.

Even more breathtaking was when he understood what the Doctor had meant by cliff side beaches. Cascading down from ridge to plateaus all along the sides of the mountains where waterfalls and pools of soft crystalline water. It was a network of water that from a distance looked like somebody had draped a shimmering silver blue mesh of the finest fabrics over the mountains. The water fell below the city towards the ground which was lost to the eye covered in a blanket of mist.

In the fourth direction was the all encompassing sky. It was truly stunning and for the first time since he stepped into Diagon Alley when he was eleven, Harry felt he had entered a whole new world. He felt a soft laugh, tinged with relieved hysteria, bubble out him. He had been growing so tired in recent years. That this was something so utterly new was a balm to his soul.

§And we have lost them.§

Harry snapped out of his musings and turned to Mora with a raised brow.

She gave him a disgruntled look as if he had again missed the obvious, §The Time Healer and his companion Master. They are gone.§

Once her comment had sunk in he felt his eyes widen slightly. He quickly scanned the area and belatedly realized that the Doctor and Rose were nowhere in sight. With this came the realization that the city was also quite crowded. He sighed.

Addressing Mora he replied, §Well, there is little chance of finding them in this crowd. I suppose we might as well go see what we can discover and hopefully meet up with them again near the dragons.§

He glanced up to the dragon like creatures and figured they would have to land eventually. He could find the other two when they did.

* * *

"Doctor!"

The Doctor didn't hear her. He continued to drag her along through the crowds looking a bit like a kid in a candy store. His gaze was practically fixated on the flying dragon-like creatures above the city. It was impressive that he had yet to run into anything.

After a couple more attempts to grab his attention she had had enough. She grab the wrist of the hand holding her and dug her heels in. The Doctor jerked at her sudden halt and finally turned to look at her.

"Rose! Why are you stopping? There are dragons!" He pointed excitedly and practically bounced on the spot. Rose snorted. Thousand year old, all powerful time lord whining about not getting to the dragons sooner. It was just so very much like the man she couldn't really be annoyed about it. Besides he had a point, dragons were pretty amazing.

Regardless she gave him a stern look, "Doctor, we seem to be missing something important here."

The blank look he gave her made her want to face palm, "Harry and Mora? Remember them? The ones you kidnapped and are now missing."

"Ooooh them. I'm sure they'll be fine. If they run into any trouble Morena will be able to handle it. Good head on her shoulders that one. Well, if she had shoulders. I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. Nothing to worry over."

Rose wasn't even sure where to begin addressing everything that was wrong with that comment. Fortunately or unfortunately they were interrupted by the sounds of a commotion nearby. They automatically turned in the direction it was coming from and she felt the familiar thrum of excitement course through her at the prospect of another adventure.

They came up behind a gathered crowd. There seemed to be a divide with the larger half yelling angrily at a smaller collection of people. The smaller consisted of maybe eight or nine individuals who where banded together and standing their ground resolutely.

It only took a moment to understand that they were arguing over the dragons, she couldn't think of any other giant winged creatures that they might be referring to. She couldn't get close enough to hear everything that was being said, but she got the impression that the large group thought the dragons might be some kind of threat and wanted to do something about them while the smaller group was insisting that they should be left alone. Each group seemed to be congregated behind a pair of individuals who looked to be leading the argument.

She stole a glance at the Doctor who was watching the spectacle with a frown. She knew he didn't approve of such aggressive actions, but she couldn't say she was all that surprised. The tendency to view the unknown as a threat wasn't exclusive to humanity and seemed pretty common across the universe.

Everything about the Doctor felt so big and powerful. He was so clever and didn't need weapons to force his way. She wondered if he truly understood what it was to always feel small and easily wrong footed. For all he tried to understand it was moments like these where it really hit home that they were different species from different backgrounds.

She was pulled from her thoughts as they got close enough to hear properly.

"-very well be here for a good reason! They have yet to do anything to anybody. We should gather more facts before we take any drastic actions. There's historical evidence that this might not be the first time they've shown up. You can't just go around declaring everything new a threat! Just think of everything we could learn from this!"

The speaker was waving his hands around the air agitatedly. He was obviously worked up and had an air of exasperation like he had had this same argument many times over. From the unhappy yet non-threatening look of the man standing opposite him she guessed that at the very least the two knew each other.

The other man just kept frowning, "I've already given your group two weeks Typhan. The people are demanding answers or actions. They aren't comfortable with dangerous unknown creatures flying over the city. You have yet to produce any answers as to why and I can't in good conscious allow this to continue unchecked. Something is going to have to be done about those creatures."

The man, Typhan, spluttered for a moment, "You can't! The stories! This could be the first time they've appeared in centuries Lyral! You want to what? Shoot them down? They might be the key we need to get all the answers about this city that we don't understand!"

Angry yells erupted behind the other man, and he gave a put upon sigh, "Those same stories also tell of a great calamity that brought ruin to our home." He pointed upwards, "What if that destruction was brought by those creatures? We know that something happened, but all the records that could explain it have long since been destroyed by whatever event befell Atria centuries ago. We cannot risk it any longer. You've had your chance Typhan it's time we try something else."

With that the man spun on the spot and walked away. Typhan was left gaping at his retreating back seemingly unaware of the crowd slowly dispersing around him.

Rose walked up to the dejected man, "Hey. You all right? That looked like a pretty nasty argument."

The man seemed to slump into himself, "It's hardly the first time. He never seems to understand the importance of the research we do."

The Doctor casually strolled up to them, hands in pockets, "Oh I don't know he seems a decent bloke. Concerned about the wellbeing of others."

Typhan shot him a glare and snapped, "I know that. I don't want anyone to get hurt either, but sometimes if we don't take risks and find out the truth of the matter then we are just opening ourselves up to problems coming back to haunt us later. He is always going on about the situation in the moment and doesn't comprehend how our research could help long term."

He narrowed his eyes, "Who are you two anyway? I don't recognize you. I don't have time to argue with a couple of tourists."

Without even waiting for a response he turned to leave, but the Doctor halted him and held out his psychic paper.

"I'm from a small group who wants to study the native fauna and wildlife." He gestured to Rose, "She is too. We're more a club really. We travel around and just recently arrived in Atria, but we want to help. Seems to me you could use all the help you could get."

The man eyed them suspiciously a moment, but quickly deflated. "Fine. Follow me then. I need to go meet up with the others and warn them that Lyral has stuck his nose into things again."

He turned away from them and started off at a brisk pace. They quickly followed and Rose looked around the city as they passed by. It was a lively city, but there wasn't an abundance of technology from what she could tell. The people looked human enough that her and the Doctor didn't stand out which was probably good because she didn't see anything that would indicate space travel. She'd ask the Doctor about it when they were alone again.

"What is that?"

Her gaze followed the Doctor's pointed hand at his question. She wasn't sure what she was looking at. They had arrived at what she guessed was the center of the floating island. However, if she hadn't known that they had been walking deeper into the city she would had thought they had left it entirely. Where the center of a vast city should lie, was instead a very large open grassy area and right in the middle of the grassy plane was a massive stone plateau rising up out of the ground. It wasn't terribly tall. Probably only as tall as the average person, but it seemed to stretch out into what she could only guess was a big circle. Why would a city leave such a big empty area right in the heart of it?

Typhan answered the Doctor's question, "This area is locally referred to as The Nest. It's located right in the middle of the island Atria is sitting on and the city actually surrounds it on all sides. It's a popular spot for picnics and local functions and the like. We tend not to bring tourists here and they don't often come across it as they all stay around the edges of the city for the view of the waterfalls so it's remained something of a local secret."

He gestured around a bit and his nature as a researching shone through. The man continued on growing increasingly enthusiastic as he spoke, "We don't actually know what the stone disc in the middle is there for. It predates all our records. It's not flat even though it looks it from the ground. If you climb up on top of it you'll find that it dips down towards its center like a shallow dish. There's also openings at regular intervals on the sides with small interconnecting tunnels that run under the whole thing. Unfortunately, any records that could have told us what it was built for were likely destroyed in The Calamity."

By this point they had reached the stone disc and were following around it's edge. Rose noted the regularly spaced openings Typhan had told them about and wondered why they were there. She was amused to find the Doctor eagerly scanning the area with his sonic screwdriver and fell back a bit so she could talk to him without being overheard by their guide.

"Have you discovered anything Doctor?"

The Doctor raised his sonic and peered at them through his spectacles, "Nothing. Well I did find that these stones are made out of rocks. Just your normal everyday, boring rocks. Can be found anywhere those rocks. Nothing abnormal about them at all."

Rose huffed a laugh. The man was practically pouting over the lack of unusual findings. She linked up arms with him again and pointed upwards, "Cheer up now. Boring rocks or not, don't forget there are still dragons flying about Doctor!"

The Doctor visibly brightened at the reminder, "Hurry up Rose! There are dragons to meet!" He scoffed lightly, "I can't believe you forgot the dragons. You silly humans."

Rose shook her head in amusement and kindly didn't point out that she wasn't the one to forget about the dragons. Instead, she sped up to match the Doctor's pace as they moved to catch back up to their guide.

* * *

Harry was standing at the edge of the city peering down into the mist below. He and Mora had wandered around viewing the various stores and buildings while making polite inquiries regarding the reptilian creatures flying overhead.

He had discovered that they just appeared one day. No warning whatsoever. One day there was nothing and the next they were flying above the city in the complicated dance he could see them performing now. Nobody could explain it and there was much debate about what to do about them if anything. So far they hadn't caused any problems, but some folks seemed wary especially with their size and ability to spout fire.

He had encountered more than a few people who suspected it was some act of aggression from another city. Being such a large tourist attraction they received a lot of attention for better or worse. Those accusations had the ring of conspiracy theorists, but it was never a good idea to completely discount them.

Other's thought in a similar vain, but they suspected the dragons were a gift instead of a weapon. They fully embraced the new members as another attractive feature to their home and harbored nothing more than innocent curiosity towards the creatures.

He had even heard one old man describe them as avatars of the gods of old. That they were performing a ritual dance to judge the people of the city. If they should be found wanting the creatures would descend and exert their wrath. If they were found worthy they would give their blessing and depart, going dormant again for the next few centuries until judgement was called once more.

Maybe it was his history with old myths proving somewhat true, but this last opinion appealed to him. He had tracked down some history books and children's tales and discovered that the old man's tale had many similarities to the local lore he had unearthed.

It was this train of thought that had led him here to the edge. If the dragons had appeared before then it stood to reason that they had always been on the planet. The first place he had thought of had been to look downwards to the impenetrable mists obscuring his sight of the ground.

§You are thinking of going down there aren't you?§ said a resigned voice.

He shot a grin to his familiar, §You know me too well Mora. I admit I am curious what is down there. I feel it is more than mere mist and an empty valley.§

She poked her head over the edge and looked downwards before dryly replying, §A suspicious, mysterious and eerie hole that leads to an unknown location that may or may not house giant fire-breathing reptiles who could swallow us whole. Yes mere curiosity obviously justifies going down there.§

She continued halfheartedly, §Just because we cannot die does not mean I am eager to find out what being eaten feels like. Are you sure you want to do this?§

He didn't bother answering. He looked around to make sure they were alone and took a shrunken trunk from his necklace. He rummaged around it a moment before pulling out his broom in triumph. He replaced his trunk and hopped on. It had really been too long since he had last gotten to fly. Once he was certain Mora was secure, he activated the magic of the cloak to make them invisible and kicked off the ground.

He took a moment to relish the feel of the wind as they rose before he turned into a sharp dive and plummeted downwards to mist below.

He slowed his speed some when they hit the mist. He couldn't see well enough to avoid obstacles should any appear. As he drifted downwards, he became aware of a gradual increase in temperature. He huffed a laugh when he heard the contented hiss Mora gave at the warmth.

Eventually he was forced to throw a cooling charm on himself. It was getting uncomfortably hot and he had the startling realization that the mist was actually steam that had cooled and condensed into fog. The water cascading down from the mountainsides must hit this heat and evaporate. Which explained the mist barrier.

Not too long after this realization he broke below the majority of evaporation and stared at what he saw below.

Mora peered downwards equally stunned. They simply gaped in shocked silence for a few minutes. It was Mora that got her voice back first, §This explains why the city isn't built in the valley...§

Harry gave an incredulous laugh, §That doesn't explain why they built it all the way up there though. Why would anyone even think to build a city here in the first place?§

They both looked again at the sight below them. As many answers as this provided there were many more questions it created.

Mora's head followed the progress of a few creatures moving around, §At least we know where the dragons came from. Although I don't know why none of these have wings.§

Harry huffed at the understatement. Looking down he could see what appeared to be a few dozen wingless versions of the creatures currently flying over the city. He could only assume there were even more out of sight. They looked well established already so he figured they were native and had always lived below the city. Thinking on their habitat he started to get an idea where the legends of gods might have originated from.

§Mora, we should probably get back and inform the Doctor. I have some hunches, but he's more likely to understand what's going on here.§

Mora, who had yet to take her eyes off the sight below them merely nodded and tightened her grip on him. Harry pulled at the handle of his broom and started to fly back up towards the city.

* * *

Led by Typhan, Rose and the Doctor came upon a cluster of temporary pavilions and tables set up to the edge of the stone disc. A small crowd of people were clustered around talking animatedly and rummaging through books and papers. A few others were staring upwards and marking things off on clipboards. Rose decided that they were Typhan's fellow researchers and that they were out there to better observe the dragons.

A few of them looked up and gave Typhan nods before going back to what they were working on. They made their way over to a smaller table with just one person sitting at it. Typhan slumped in a chair and absently waved for Rose and the Doctor to sit themselves. He looked tired.

"Please tell me somebody has figured something out?"

The other man at the table didn't look up from his reading, "No, nothing has changed. They are still flying up there as before. No sign of leaving or landing from what we can see."

The Doctor had grabbed one of the books on the table and was flipping through it. Rose leaned over to look. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Why books on myths?"

Typhan glanced at the book the Doctor was still flipping through and elaborated, "Something happened a couple of centuries ago that wiped out the city. We aren't sure what as almost everything was destroyed including all written records. The city was only rebuilt some years later when some explorers discovered the suspended island and the ruins. One of the only remaining things was that stone circle. Most people refer to the event as simply The Calamity."

"The myths you're reading actually come from stories passed on in nearby villages, but they are our best clues as to what things were like before we settled here. There's one in particular that talks of flying gods of judgement that appear asses the people. Should the people appease the gods then many years of prosperity are said to follow. If not then supposedly they will call down the next calamity."

Typhan gained an air of agitation as he continued, "Some people have drawn parallels between our flying friends and these supposed gods. They are frightened and believe that if we do not show our worth we will be punished. Not that they have any useful suggestions about how to show said worth. They are just running around getting everyone else worked up and causing general panic. The fools."

The Doctor gave the man a piercing stare, "Many myths hold truth to them. You shouldn't dismiss them so easily."

Typhan gave a short, bitter laugh, "Oh I know, but they also hold just as much fiction. Instead of trying to figure out why this is happening they are jumping to conclusions and demanding for action."

The Doctor stood up again, "My friend and I are going to go look around now. We'll be around. I'll call you if I need anything."

They wandered off towards the stone wall. The Doctor walked over to one of the openings and started waving his sonic around it. Rose decided to leave him to it. She grabbed the upper edge of the wall and pulled herself up. From up here should could see why Typhan had described it as a dish. It was a big concave circle. She also realized it was rather large. Probably ten meters in diameter.

"Doctor why would somebody build a big stone dish thing in the middle of a city? I just can't see this as being decorative."

"Not sure. The stones in this opening are smoother and coated in ash. It's like there were prolonged fires in here."

She looked over the edge incredulously, "Are you saying they baked a giant loaf of bread on this Doctor?"

He looked up, an impish smile lighting his face, "Maybe not a loaf of bread, but I would be interested in a delux sized pizza. We could get some diadulle sausage for a topping. Nothing better than diadulle"

Rose was wondering what a diadulle was when everything lurched and she was knocked down as the earth trembled. With nothing to cling to she just sprawled out and waited for it to stop.

When things had calmed again a few minutes later she heard the Doctor call her name. She picked herself up and patted herself over. Nothing broken.

"I'm all right. Doctor what was that?"

He frowned as he looked at some readings from his sonic, "Some kind of earthquake, but I'm not sure what caused it since we are suspended way up here. He looked up at the still flying creatures. Something is going on and I think our friends up there know what it is."

She looked out across the open grassy area and her eye was caught by an approaching group led by Lyral. "Doctor I think we might have a problem. That group from earlier is headed this way and they don't look happy."

* * *

She had been right. That group had stormed into the pavilion demanding answers about the quakes. There had been a couple more incidents of shaking since the first and tempers were flaring all around. People were panicking and many were trying to pin the blame on the flying creatures. Others were crying out about the warnings for their angering of the gods. In short, nobody knew what was happening.

Rose was getting upset. These stubborn idiots weren't listening to her. It didn't help that the Doctor was off doing who knows what. Even when she tried to talk to him he just distractedly mumbled about giant pizzas.

She was practically yelling in her frustration, "The earthquakes aren't because of those creatures! That doesn't make any sense! Why would they only start now when they've been up there for days already? There has to be another reason for it."

"They are happening because this city is located right above a volcano."

The voice was quiet, but it cut through the bedlam with ease. Everyone fell silent and turned to the new voice. Casually standing before them as if he belonged nowhere else was Harry. Rose spotted Mora in her usual place around his shoulders. Green eyes scanned the group dismissively and Rose wondered at his ease under all their scrutiny.

He continued on as if he was talking about the weather, "This city is situated right above an active volcano that's going to erupt soon." He nodded upwards at the dragons, "They didn't bring the changes with them. They are just another symptom resulting from the volcano acting up again."

A pause and then an outburst as everyone tried to talk at once. Angry yells of disbelief and fear driven cries of denial erupted all around. Green eyes hardened at the spectacle and in that moment Rose was forcibly reminded of the Doctor. Something about those knowing, old eyes had her drawing comparisons between them.

Though at the same time Harry was different. The Doctor when he was angry was like an unstoppable force of nature. He moved forward and bowled down anything that dared stand in his path. He was the raging storm.

Harry on the other hand carried himself with a calm authority. He was just standing there waiting. It was as if he was merely watching a toddler throw a tantrum. He watched the mayhem like he knew that no matter how much they screamed and cried and fussed that they would eventually wear themselves out. There was something like inevitability in that unwavering green gaze.

Wear themselves out they did. One by one they eventually all fell silent again under that intense scrutiny. To her amusement, some of them were even shifting around like guilty children.

When all was quiet, Harry continued on as if nothing had interrupted him, "Those creatures actually live down deep in the mountain near the heart of the volcano. Typically they would have no reason to come up here. In fact most of them do not have wings, which is why you did not know of their existence."

Rose thought about it a moment, "If they don't have wings then why do those six? Why are they here now of all times?"

Harry's eyes flashed approval at her question, "I suspect they are here now because the volcano has gone active once again. The heat is obviously not an issue, but the smoke and moving lava undoubtedly endangers their species. The wings are probably a natural survival mechanism that only a few in each generation have so that they can fly out of harms way and repopulate should the need arise."

Lyral blanched, "Are you telling me that we are situated above an active volcano that is about to erupt?! That this is the cause of the calamity from all those years ago?"

Harry shrugged in his uncertainty, "I'm not really sure. I don't know why anyone would build a city up here if it was just going to get wiped out each time the volcano erupted. I think there is something we are missing."

After that statement, quiet murmuring started up as they all tried to work out what was happening.

Eventually, Harry pulled himself away from a group of people who had been questioning him. He looked around before turning to Rose, "Where is the Doctor?"

Rose responded exasperatedly, "He was just here. He had one of his revelations and dragged Typhan outside without explaining anything. He just said something about fireplaces and bolted off."

Harry chuckled, "Maybe we should track him down then. Mora think you could find him for us?"

The snake lifted her head a bit and tasted the air. She hissed something to Harry and he nodded in understanding.

"Well it seems he went this way. Let's go track down the overgrown starfish then."

Rose snorted at the Doctor's new nickname and followed after the pair. A confused Lyral leading a slightly panicked crowd following in their wake.

* * *

It didn't take long to find the wayward Time Lord. They hadn't wandered off all that far. Harry found him and another man, who Harry assumed was the Typhan that Rose had mentioned, just a little ways away by one of the holes in the stone wall thing.

The Doctor glanced up at their approach and beamed at them, "Morena! You brought everyone! Perfect! I knew you would come through." He clapped his hands together, "Now I need everyone to go collect firewood. Lots and lots of firewood. We need to get these fires going so the dragons can land!"

Harry blinked at the odd instructions and the man's enthusiasm. Forget cities built over volcanos and dragons, the Doctor was by far the stranger phenomenon here.

Rose's suspicious voice interjected, "Doctor, just why are you going to start fires? You're not allowed to burn down the city just because you think it will attract the dragons."

At least Harry wasn't the only one wary of the gleam in the man's eye. He could easily admit that he was concerned when the Doctor just pointed the the opening in the rock wall.

The Doctor was practically bouncing in his excitement by this point as he picked up the explanation, "They are fireplaces! Each of them. This place isn't called The Nest because somebody thought it sounded nice. It's called the nest because that's exactly what it is!"

He was almost gushing as he rambled on, "It's a nest for the dragons! The holes are fireplaces so that people can help keep it warm for the eggs of course. The tunnels are for the hot air to travel and heat up the whole thing evenly."

Typhan was in league with the Doctor in his excitement, "We finally have the proof that they have been here before! A piece of our history rediscovered!"

Apparently Lyral had had enough, "Why should we light those fires? For all we know inviting them down here is just asking for trouble. I won't endanger the people just so you can get up close and personal to your beloved pets Typhan! Do not forget that the reason that history is missing is because of The Calamity which those things seem to be a part of!"

As yet another argument broke out, Harry and Rose wandered over to where the Doctor had migrated to the side after his outburst. The man was staring intently at the fireplace lost in thought.

Rose seemed frustrated as she said, "You know Doctor I find myself doubting that people would go to all this trouble to make a habitable spot for the dragons to nest if they had any reason to believe they would be a danger to them."

Another rumble of the ground. They were growing worrisomely more frequent. Harry couldn't resist dryly replying, "Then again these would be the same people that built a city above a volcano so who knows. Maybe they just had an unhealthy obsession with fire."

The Doctor was still lost in thought spouting out a constant stream of ramblings, "Why would people go to such effort to build a nest? A nest right in the very center of their city. There has to be some purpose behind it. Not just a comfortable spot away from everyone, but right in the middle. A city built over a volcano..."

His eyes widened as something clicked in his head. Harry watched as he stood up and rushed over to the still arguing Typhan and Lyral.

"We have to light the fires."

Lyral turned his angry glare onto the Doctor, but the man didn't give him a chance, "Why would a people build a nest for flying, fire breathing creatures who live in a volcano right in the very center of the city? Unless it served a purpose. It's symbiotic. The dragons get a safe place to have their eggs and continue their species. A nest that they will protect from danger. They can't stay below in the volcano while it erupts, they would either drown in the lava or suffocate in the smoke."

"So they breed a super generation not unlike some butterflies do. A special generation capable of flying so that they can come up above the mist barrier that blocks the majority of the poison smoke and nest here. They don't go too far because they still need heat though. That leaves the lava as being a problem. The mist barrier can't be enough to stop it so there must be something else. They probably circle until after the initial eruption then pick a warm place that they can protect to nest in."

"Who would build a city above an active volcano unless they were sure it they wouldn't be in danger from it? Why build a heatable nest right in the middle of the city to lure in dragons who spawn a super generation that should be capable of protecting themselves from that very threat?"

Typhan caught on first. He breathed out in awe, "The creatures protect the city. Whatever it is they do is enough to protect the city too. That's why they are in the center. So everything is reached. So they heat the nest to trick the dragons into landing early and protecting them. Brilliant."

Lyral looked a bit overwhelmed, "Then what caused the calamity?"

Harry had worked it out by this point so he decided to clarify, "They must not have lured the dragons to the nest. Right now they are circling probably looking for the best place to land. The heated rocks would have been an attractive spot for them. Similar to their natural habitat. If the fires weren't lit the city was probably left exposed during the eruption."

Another rumble broke them out of their reverie. Rose looked wary, "Doctor how long before it erupts?"

A grim look met her eyes, "Under two hours. If the rocks are going to be heated in time for them to land here then we better light these fires quickly."

At that Lyral snapped out of it and took charge. He urgently and efficiently started directing people to quickly collect the wood and start lightly fires. Unfortunately in order to hold half a dozen dragons and their offspring, the rocky area was very large and had many openings for proportionally large fires. Even with the tunnels connecting the fireplaces and running under the stone nest to distribute heat, it would be a close thing. The constant shaking was not making matters any easier.

Harry rushed around using his magic discreetly where he could, but he was growing concerned. How did the dragons protect the land and how long did it take before that protection was in place? The rocks were heating rapidly, but they were running out of time.

He looked at Mora. She saw his look and sighed, §You are about to do something stupidly reckless aren't you?§

He just grinned unabashedly, §I'm going to leave you here with a listening charm. I'll see what I can do to prolong the eruption. I need you to tell me when it's safe to let it go.§

Her exasperation turned to alarm, §Master not even you can think to stop a volcano. I do not want to find out if you can grow back from being burnt to nothing.§

§I'm not trying to stop it. Just delay it. I'll put up personal wards I promise.§

§I do not like this Master, but I know better than to try and stop you. The Keeper of Knowledge was right about your saving people thing.§

Harry just laughed at her comment as he found Rose where she was helping to direct people, "Can you hold onto Mora for me? She's complaining that I keep getting her too close to the fires."

He noticed how the Doctor glanced at him as he handed Mora off to Rose, but the man said nothing so Harry hurried off to find somewhere out of sight the apparate from. Mora's grumblings about idiotic master's came in a constant stream over the listening charm as he went.

He appeared on a ledge he had noted when they had ventured to the volcano floor earlier. He quickly set up some wards around him to keep the air clear and block out the heat and sulfur. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated.

The hollows merging with him had a few perks. One had been a closer connection to both his magic and the world around him. He felt out the volcano and felt how very near it was to erupting. He slowly spread his magic over it like a cap and focused on reinforcing it. Once it erupted, he would only be able to hold it a few minutes before the pressure build up was too great and the magic would shatter. He just hoped those few minutes would be enough.

A small part of him registered Mora telling him that the dragons had landed and they were doing something. He felt some kind of energy start to build above him, but could not afford to split his focus to find out more about it. The volcano was reaching a crescendo and with only a spike of warning it erupted.

The initial wave hitting against his barrier was almost overwhelming enough to shock him into distraction, but he steeled his will and held it. The pressure of the lava, smoke and air was a constant drain on his reserves and stamina, but he stubbornly held on. Finally just as exhaustion was threatening to win Mora told him they were ready. He dropped the magic and apparated as fast as he could to the only image he could recall clearly at the moment.

* * *

The Doctor wasn't surprised later that night when he came across a sleeping and slightly singed Harry slumped against the TARDIS door. Actually he was very surprised at the state of the young man, but he wasn't surprised at the proof that Harry had obviously done...something. That he had no idea what Harry could have possibly done though was baffling.

He knew that the volcano should have erupted before it actually did. It was very suspicious that nothing had happened until right when the dragons had finished placing their protection. Harry was a human. There should have been absolutely nothing he could have done alone that would have delayed the volcano. Yet everything pointed to Harry having done just that.

It was fascinating. Every time he thought he had figured a piece of the mystery out, he was presented with another part of he puzzle. Except it was as if he had been working a jigsaw this whole time and the new piece was instead a crossword clue. Nothing fit together and he was having a great time trying to work it all out.

He waved his sonic and almost pouted at the unchanging results. Excluding the signs of exhaustion, the readings still showed him as completely human. He shrugged and pick up a nearby stick. Then he crouched down and started prodding the boy with it.

He watched as Harry groggily roused from his sleep. He blinked a few times and green eyes slowly focused on the Doctor. Then his gaze traveled to the stick the Doctor was still poking him with.

Harry deadpanned, "You are actually poking me with a stick to see if I'm still alive? I feel touched by the show of concern Doctor."

The Doctor beamed at him and kept up his poking. When Harry batted the stick away he mock pouted. Harry just huffed in amusement not buying the act for a second.

He paid close attention as Harry slowly maneuvered himself back to his feet. It was apparent that the boy had found himself in similar situations before as he carefully stood with slow practiced movements. Another puzzle piece.

He remained quiet as Harry finally stood and leaned against the TARDIS. The boy took a moment to orient himself and shake off the after effects of extreme exhaustion.

Sharp green eyes focused on him, "How long has it been?"

A nonchalant shrug, "Around three hours. Rose sent me for a change of clothes. She insisted we stay the night so she could look at the dragons in the daytime when things were less hectic."

He started to move inside the TARDIS, but caught the knowing look sent his way, "Rose wanted to stay is it? I'm sure you were very reluctant and I must have imagined you practically skipping off jubilantly at the idea of meeting real dragons?"

The Doctor just smiled, but said nothing as he went inside to grab the clothes. Harry didn't follow him in. Just leaned against a wall and waited. It was the only outward sign he exhibited of what the Doctor knew was extreme fatigue. They slowly made their way back in companionable, if uncharacteristic for the Doctor, silence. The Doctor busied himself with churning through ideas of what the other had done to stop the lava. He suspected Harry knew what he was thinking when tired green eyes met his and glinted mischievously in the low light.

* * *

The next day found the two of them back by the dragon nest. A schedule had apparently been established to keep the fires lit and the dragons looked content with their situation.

Now that he could see them up close Harry was able to catalogue the difference between these reptiles and the dragons from his home world. These were smaller for one. They looked more like drakes with wings then dragons which actually made some sense. He didn't feel any magic coming off of them which had made him ask what the dragons had done to protect the island.

The Doctor's response had been utterly confusing and he was convinced that half the words had been made up. Luckily for him Rose had some practice translating the Time Lord's verbiage and had summed it up as something along the lines of the six of them sharing a joint psychic connection. They were apparently able to manifest it in such a way as to stir up a massive air column that redirected the lava to the mountain peaks. That in turn explained why it looked like the city was situated between three mountains and not in the middle of a single volcano. Over the years the lava had built up enough to create separate peaks. At least that's how Rose understood it.

He walked up to where the Doctor was standing as close as he could to one of the dragons that had decided to walk around the open area and explore. Rose was off with Mora buying souvenirs for her mum and somebody name Mickey.

He looked into intelligent amber eyes and a memory of his third year sprung to mind. He couldn't resist the temptation so he walked closer to the creature and bowed. After an assessing moment he received a bow in return and delightedly went up and started petting the brilliant scales.

He cackled inwardly at the utterly dumbfounded expression the Doctor was sporting. Eyes twinkling he leaned over to whisper a request to the beautiful drake. Upon a nod of confirmation he turned back to the other man, "Hey Doctor. I think I heard you mention earlier how you wanted to try and fly on the back of a dragon?"

That was all the prompting needed. He heard what was decidedly a squeal of excitement, no denials from the man later would convince him otherwise, and he swore the Doctor teleported to their side. They both climbed on when prompted and were shortly off with a flapping of wings and a rush of air. Laughing jubilantly Harry was glad he had fallen into company with this mad man and his blue box. At the very least things would no longer be boring.


End file.
